Lake Wylie

Overview

Lake Wylie straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina line on the Catawba River between Charlotte and Rock Hill. It is one of South Carolina's oldest reservoirs, first built near Fort Mill in 1904 and rebuilt in 1924. Today it generates hydropower, cools three Duke Energy plants and supplies drinking water for Belmont and Rock Hill. The lake is fertile, and much of its shoreline is lined with homes. Largemouth bass, crappie and catfish are the main fisheries, and the lake reaches depths of about 94 feet. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission sampled largemouth bass on the North Carolina portion from 2015 to 2017, working both the Catawba River and South Fork arms, and found high catch rates. On the South Carolina side, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources lists five public boat access areas run with York County, bank fishing at Ebenezer Park and six fish attractors. Because the lake crosses a state line, check which state's water you are in before you fish.

Regulations

North Carolina and South Carolina have no reciprocal license agreement, so you need a license from the state whose water you fish. North Carolina has a trophy rule on large blue catfish for its part of the lake, and South Carolina has a largemouth bass minimum length limit for its part. See the North Carolina inland fishing regulations: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/fishing/regulations and the South Carolina rules for Lake Wylie: https://www.dnr.sc.gov/lakes/wylie/regs.html

More in Mecklenburg

• Lake Norman (NC)